How to choose a perfume that suits your style

A suitable perfume complements your style when you enjoy wearing it. The number of names and formats can be confusing, so begin with a few clear questions about what you like.

Which directions appeal to you?

Citrus accords can guide you towards freshness, floral accords towards different flower interpretations, and woods towards cedar, sandalwood or other woody impressions. Warmer compositions may be described through vanilla, musk and spices. These are a few directions, not the only classification of perfumery.

Style and everyday life

Consider whether you will wear perfume daily, at work, in your free time or for occasions. You may enjoy different scents in different settings, but a season or activity does not require one fixed fragrance.

How should you try it?

Where offered, a sample lets you compare a fragrance in familiar surroundings. Follow your first impression with a later trial. When shopping online, read the individual product description, notes and variants; packaging appearance does not establish scent characteristics.

Making the decision

Consider a convenient bottle, application format and current price. Do not decide suitability from generalisations about skin type or concentration alone. If you know an original fragrance, search can find a verified alternative; if you have no starting point, try the fragrance quiz.

Find an alternative to a fragrance you love · Fragrance quiz